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Earlier this year, two environmental NGOs in Panama were notified that a large part of their bank accounts and assets had been seized. Adopta Bosque Panamá, dedicated to the conservation of the country’s unique ecosystems, had one account and four farms that act as private nature reserves frozen. The Environmental Advocacy Center (CIAM), established since 2009, had all its accounts seized. The decision was made by a judge — says Joana Abrego from CIAM — amid the process of a civil lawsuit filed against them by Ocean Pacific Financial Services, the promoting company responsible for developing the Puerto Barú project in David, in the province of Chiriquí.
Since 2023, CIAM and Adopta Bosque had been speaking out against its construction, as the port will operate in the western region, near an area where 25% of the country’s mangroves are found, and will involve dredging to make the channel navigable, disturbing the marine and coastal ecosystem. A year later, and based on a report carried out by the American consultancy Lynker, the two organizations — along with four others — filed a lawsuit before the Supreme Court of Justice to declare the nullity of the Environmental Impact Study (EIA) of the project, approved in 2024 by the Ministry of Environment. “The EIA of Puerto Barú, the supporting documents, and other promotional materials (such as the project’s website) present numerous claims that lack sufficient evidence or misrepresent the possible impacts (and benefits) on critical ecosystems, such as mangroves, coral reefs, and resident marine species,” concludes the consultancy’s report.
Since then, according to Guido Berguido, director of Adopta Bosque, the company “has sought to attack and silence the two organizations that have been the most vocal.” In August 2025, it filed criminal complaints against them for libel, slander, and economic crimes — the project has an estimated investment of 250 million dollars according to its website. And as they found out this year, Ocean Pacific Financial Services also opened the path for the civil lawsuit. “It is a classic example of what they call SLAPP,” comments the director, referring to what in English is known as Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation, which alludes to an intimidating lawsuit in which the goal is not necessarily to win, but to exhaust the other party.
Through a written response sent to El País, Ismael González, general director of Puerto Barú in David, denies that they have that intention or seek to silence the NGOs opposing the project. “The exercise of legal actions against statements we consider inaccurate or defamatory does not constitute censorship or retaliation, but the legitimate use of the mechanisms offered by the rule of law for the protection of rights,” he states. He also explains that the company undertook legal actions because, since September 2024, there has been a defamatory campaign on social networks and other media.
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“Repeatedly, these organizations have spread messages that label the project as an ‘environmental disaster,’ claim that it ‘will destroy protected areas,’ or question the legality of the permits obtained. These types of claims, besides lacking verifiable technical support, affect the project’s reputation and erode the credibility of the public authorities involved in its evaluation,” the response says. The document also states that the EIA has the highest category, was “developed over more than three years by a multidisciplinary team of more than 30 Panamanian scientists, with the advice of international experts,” and that “the project has acceptance in the communities of the province of Chiriquí.”
But while the three processes conclude (the NGOs’ lawsuit against the port’s EIA and the two legal actions by the company), CIAM and Adopta Bosque are going through difficult days: they have run out of resources to fulfill their mission. “In the seized accounts, we had the funds for severance, salary payments for collaborators, all expenses,” says Abrego from CIAM. “We have reduced our operations to a minimum level and even the donations we receive at this moment can only be in kind.”
Regarding the fact that a judge ordered the freezing of the accounts and assets of these NGOs, the company points out that “it is exclusively up to the authorities to determine the applicable measures at each stage, based on the elements presented by the parties.” Meanwhile, authorities such as Panama’s Minister of Environment, Juan Carlos Navarro, told local media that, personally, he considered it an unfortunate measure. “It does not benefit at all the national dialogue that must take place on vital issues such as new projects that will have an environmental impact,” he assured.
The Escazú Now Regional Network also published a statement highlighting its concern. Panama is one of the countries that has already ratified the Escazú Agreement, in which one of the pillars is precisely the right to citizen participation in environmental management. “That this happens in Panama is a bad precedent for the region, for Central America,” says Carolina Sánchez, spokesperson for the Greater Caribbean Network Free of Fossils. “Besides being in a moment of great polarization, the organizations that defend the environment have had a huge economic impact during the last year due to the foreign policies of other countries. And this puts us at a crossroads.”